Still and sparkling

Humidifying your dry-ass house in January

It’s winter and in my house, that means clothes and bedding that crackle with static electricity, light switches that zap you every time you turn them on or off, and hair that looks amazing from dawn to dusk, because unlike most people I won the winter-hair jackpot. I mean, look at this:

That’s some good hair and it looks this way from November to March. You’re welcome.

Anyway, the air is so dry in Chicago this time of year, and I spend a lot of time fighting it. There are some obvious ways to increase moisture, such as using a humidifier (which I do), but I assume you’re smart and already thought of that one. Here are my other coping mechanisms:

Actually using the water pans in the steam heat radiators. Again, maybe an obvious one for folks with steam heat, but I had never heard of them before JD and I moved into this apartment and he was like, “Here’s these things and what to do with them.” It’s a pain to fill them regularly, but it helps, and I like to imagine myself as a poor Victorian-era waif working in a drafty mansion as I do it.

Literally just boiling a big pot of water on the stove. Uncovered, naturally. Pour a few drops of essential oil in there if you want to get fancy and make the house smell nice. We are doing this right now and my glasses actually fogged up. BRILLIANT.

Do you have certain clothing items that you hand wash in a sink or tub? When you hang them up to dry, stop up the basin so the water doesn’t roll away, but evaporates into your home instead. I’m not going to post a picture of my bras hanging in the shower and dripping into an inch of water, but it’s happening and it is good. You can also take a bath towel, saturate it with water, and hang it up to drip-dry.

You could also run a hot shower for a while, but I try to be environmentally conscious and not do that unless I’m in the shower as well.

Tell me your tips if you have them! I am not going to rest until my whole house is an Icelandic steam bath.